Spearmint in the Snow

Snow covered the whole of the Blackthorn Academy grounds, muting the world's sharp lines until everything seemed hushed, almost sacred. Ice had started to creep along the lake's edge, a fragile glaze catching the washed-out winter light. Owls cut through the sky above us, their cries carrying over the courtyard like the cold had stirred them awake instead of sending them into hiding. Usually, the first real snowfall at Blackthorn Academy made something warm bloom inside me. It always pulled my thoughts to Christmas at home. Fires popping, tree lights glittering, my parents' laughter drifting out from the kitchen. Today, though, none of that calm found a place in my chest. Not after Professor Rowntree's announcement. Another ball was being held to honor Leander Pike here at Blackthorn Academy...and that part, at least, I really did love. But everything else about it? The gowns, the staring, the expectations? "Hermione?" Nathan's voice sliced straight through the spiral of my thoughts. "Huh-?!" I jerked so hard my quill nearly went through the page. Nathan let out a snort. "You've been somewhere else all day. What has been bouncing around inside your head all day?" "Oh, nothing. I'm just tired, I guess. Too much studying this week." "Shocking," he said flatly, dropping his attention back to that cursed Potions book. I shot the book a glare. "Nathan, I still think you ought to throw that thing away. It might be packed with dark magic." "But it isn't," he argued without really looking up. "It's only helped me." I sighed, loud and dramatic and very much on purpose. He failed to notice. Before long we were headed to Apparition class, though I hardly needed the extra practice. Nathan, Callum, and half our year were still having trouble, but I...well, I was Hermione Granger. If I still couldn't apparate by now, the universe itself would probably collapse in disbelief. The professor overseeing us had come from the Arcane Ministry. Every year, the sixth years trained for apparition under a Ministry official. Because of all the enchantments over Blackthorn Academy, they needed special approval before anyone could apparate inside the school. "Today you'll be pairing off," the Ministry instructor announced, sounding altogether too delighted. "Perhaps your classmates can teach you what I cannot." Callum and Nathan both looked at me with open hope. Callum even crossed his fingers beneath the desk. Nathan mouthed, "Please." "Reed and Owen. Mercer and Voss...." He read through the list name after name until he reached the final pair. "Granger and Malfoy."